A woman who left Holy Spirit Hospital and died after flinging herself into speeding traffic had been persuaded by police to undergo a mental health evaluation, according to the Steelton police chief.

CHRIS KNIGHT, The Patriot-NewsDawn M. Martin, 30, of Steelton, was killed on the Camp Hill Bypass near the M. Harvey Taylor Bridge.

Dawn M. Martin died Tuesday night after being struck by two vehicles on the Harvey Taylor Bridge Bypass, a short distance from Holy Spirit, located in East Pennsboro Twp.

Wearing a hospital gown, the 30-year-old Steelton resident made several attempts to roll under or jump in front of vehicles before she was run over, police said.

Holy Spirit has cited patient privacy laws and refused to discuss the death.

Steelton Police Chief Scott Spangler said officers were called at 8:11 p.m. to a disturbance involving Martin. The officers told her she would be involuntarily committed for mental health evaluation unless she did so voluntarily, said Spangler, who didn’t know the nature of the disturbance.

She agreed to voluntary commitment, and officers called for an ambulance. The ambulance was originally bound for Harrisburg Hospital, but was diverted to Holy Spirit, said Spangler, who didn’t know the reason for the diversion.

Around 11 p.m, several cars had to swerve to avoid hitting Martin. At least two motorists pulled over and were approaching to try to help her, East Pennsboro Twp. Police Chief Todd Bashore said.

But she rolled into the traffic lane and was run over by one vehicle and struck by a second, he said. She died immediately.

Bashore said that minutes after East Pennsboro police received the call about Martin being struck, they were notified of a report from Holy Spirit about a missing patient.

The death is considered a suicide, Cumberland County Chief Deputy Coroner Matthew Stoner said.

Bashore said he believes Martin was in the emergency room immediately before leaving Holy Spirit. He and Stoner had no details about how Holy Spirit viewed her mental health status, what steps might have been taken to contain her, or how she got out of the hospital.

Holy Spirit, in addition to providing regular hospital services, is a mental health treatment center with a locked unit.

It’s unclear whether Holy Spirit had a legal authority to restrain and prevent Martin from leaving or had a duty to do so on grounds she posed a danger to herself or others.

Spangler, the Steelton police chief, said he didn’t know what Holy Spirit had been told about Martin’s condition.

Had she been brought to the hospital by police, the hospital would have had more authority to prevent her from leaving, and more responsibility to do so, Andrews said.

How much blame Holy Spirit bears for allowing her to leave depends on what behavior they saw before she left, Andrews said.

Spangler said it’s Steelton’s normal practice to call an ambulance for people in mental health crisis.

A patient who escaped from Holy Spirit in 2000 and later died led to increased training and other reforms related to how people in mental health crisis are handled.

Ryan Schorr, 25, was bipolar and had become unstable after he stopped taking medication. Police took him to Holy Spirit for involuntary commitment at the request of his family.

Schorr escaped from Holy Spirit and returned to his Wormleysburg apartment, where he eventually became involved in a fracas with police and was fatally shot.

A Cumberland County grand jury concluded police were justified in shooting Schorr, but more could have been done to prevent the death.

Schorr’s parents eventually received $35,000 to settle their lawsuit against West Shore Regional Police, with the payment intended to offset the cost of the suit.

The department further agreed to send officers for special training for situations involving mental illness. The case resulted in assorted local departments obtaining such training, and additional steps by other agencies to better help and protect people in mental health crisis.

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